One of the interesting studies available to students of geology is the
way in which various structures on the surface of the earth are formed.
Our cover shows some beautiful mountains, but the unusual field of sand
dunes is what probably catches most people's eyes first. Where does sand
come from and what message does it carry for us. Where we live in the Great
Lakes area, there are massive amounts of sand. Areas to the south of us
have lots of rocks, but relatively small amounts of sand compared to our
area. This has not always been true, however, because deep underground
there are massive amounts of sandstone--the same sand we have around the
Great Lakes, but cemented together into rock.

Sand can be produced by the smashing up of rock. In places like Hawaii,
there are beaches made up of black lava pounded by waves into sand. There
are even green and pink beaches made from parent rock that contains minerals
like olivine with their colors. Most sand, however, is made of quartz and
is the by-product of the breakdown of volcanic rocks. Granite is made up
of three basic minerals--orthoclase, hornblende, and quartz. There can
be smaller amounts of other materials, but these are the dominant ones.
The interesting thing is that these minerals have different hardness levels
and are eroded at different rates. Orthoclase is quite easy to erode and
has a pinkish color to it. This material is seen as clay when it is deposited
in significant amounts. Hornblende is also fairly easy to weather and erode
and is dark colored. Quartz is extremely hard and durable. The result is
that when weather and physical processes work on granite, the orthoclase
and hornblende are carried away and what is left is quartz (sand).

The massive amounts of sand seen around the Great Lakes has come mainly
from the granite that makes up the Canadian shield--the bedrock underlying
much of North America. Any mountainous area will ultimately be reduced
to nothing more than sand. One lesson that comes from mountains and sand
is that nothing in this physical world is permanent. Jesus stated this
eloquently when He urged us to "Do not store up for yourselves treasures
on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break through and
steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and
rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

When I took my geology classes at Notre Dame University, we had a professor
who would take us on a field trip to the cemetery. Headstones erected in
the early 1800s already have disintegrated into piles of sand. One has
to be reminded of James
4:14, "For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for
a little time, and then vanisheth away."

Another lesson from mountains and sand is the message of change. One
of my favorite places on Lake Michigan near our home is called Tower Hill.
This huge dune of sand is an active, moving dune. A parking lot on the
lakeside of the dune has cut off its sand supply, and as the dune erodes
away from wind and people climbing on it, old layers of soil and buried
trees are emerging. Hundreds of miles to the south of our area are buried
sand dunes, indicating that ancient granite areas must have been nearby
and very different conditions must have existed than do now.

The Bible is a book of change. In Genesis, we see man change and we
see the world change with him. Over and over, God says "from now on" in
reference to things that would change (see Genesis
3:14, 16-19).
As you read the Bible, you see man change and the continual change in how
God deals with man. All of this culminates in the greatest change of all--the
death of Christ, His resurrection, and the establishment of His Church.
As we see the Church grow and adjust in Acts, we see more change; and the
book of Revelation clearly shows change in the future.

Through all of this, however, is the message of purpose and design by
God. The mixture of sand, hornblende, and clay lead to soil. Life could
not exist on a planet made of unweatherable and unerodable rock. The waters
that erode the granite sustain life, and the result of all of this produces
the topsoil that feeds us. The change of mountains into sand makes the
earth a vibrant, living thing of beauty.

So too, our lives can be things of beauty if we allow God to mold and
shape us. This is one of the key messages of 1
Corinthians 15:39-55. As the writer tells us of the most beautiful
changes of all:

Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all
be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption,
and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed
up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
(1 Corinthians
15:51-55).